Questions and Replies
23 December 2022 - NW3814
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
What (a) are the (i) detailed estimates and (ii) all important variables of the long- term damage of the KwaZulu-Natal floods on the sugar sector and (b)(i) total number of farmers ceased operations and exited the market due to losses incurred in the floods and (ii) is her department doing to help them; (2) what (a) are the details of other crops that were affected by the KwaZulu-Natal floods and (b) actions are being taken to support affected farmers?
Reply:
(1)(a),(i) Information received from five of the Millers (Umfolozi, Malelane, Sezela, Eston and Noodsberg) indicates that the Small-Scale Growers (SSGs) deliveries against expected delivery estimates are behind the mill percentage as at the end of October 2022. Out of the five Millers, two Milling areas (Umfolozi and Malelane) have indicated that SSGs will catch-up with deliveries by the end of the season. The remaining Millers which are Sezela, Eston and Noodsberg plus Felixton, have indicated that SSGs will not deliver full season sugarcane estimates and will carryover cane into 2023/2024. Commercial growers are on track and will deliver the estimated tonnage.
(ii) The harvesting cycle of sugar cane in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) ranges from 12 to 24 months and the main affected areas are on the 16-month cycle. It should be noted that off farm infrastructure (i.e. local roads, access roads, bridges etc) and on farm infrastructure which broadly inhibits optimal operations, will take some time to repair. The latter is further dependent on the availability of resources that its anticipated to be reprioritised based on the disaster declaration process.
(b)(i) The April 2022 report issued by the SA Canegrowers, indicates that 308 producers across five regions in KZN have been affected. The report does not indicate ceasing of operation but indicated the inability to deliver to the market due to extensive on and off farm infrastructure damage. The report further indicates that 2516.65 hectors have experienced severe root damage and thus necessitates replating of the hectors. The estimated damage for infield is R 194, 9 million while the on-farm infrastructure is R 27, 9 million.
(ii) The KZN provincial Department of Agriculture is part of the response teams that are engaged in the assessment process and further ensuring that a speedy provision of support is in place and operation. It is however noted that a ratoon programme(replanting) with an estimated amount of R 7, 5 million has been secured to assist the small-scale sugar growers in the rural parts of the province.
(2)(a) The South African Farmers Development Association (SAFDA) report of April 2022 indicates that heavy rains in the province had devastating impact on several farmers who lost both cash crops and in the main livestock and the support infrastructure. A total of 5178.53 hectors of crops were damaged costing farmers a total of R 236 979 436. Livestock farmers were faced with a loss totalling R 61 686 150.
(b) The main income generating activities are supported through the ratoon programme while activities in terms of crops and livestock, will benefit through the provincial reprioritisation of allocated funds to ensure that the food security element for affected households is maintained. The latter stems from the fact that a disaster has been declared and thus allows for the reprioritisation of interventions or reassignment of funds to be implemented.
23 December 2022 - NW3869
Wilson, Ms ER to ask the Minister of Health
Since his reply to question 2474 on 15 September 2022, what (a) is the current extent of the backlog of surgeries in the public health sector and (b) steps has his department taken to address the specified backlog?
Reply:
NW4823E
a) The National Department of Health is still consulting with Provincial Departments of Health to verify the figures in each province. This information will be furnished to the Honourable Member as soon as it is received from Provinces.
b) The table below illustrates the steps taken to address the backlog
Province |
(b) What steps have been taken to address the specified backlog |
Eastern Cape |
Information not yet received |
Free State |
|
Gauteng |
|
KwaZulu Natal |
|
Limpopo |
|
Mpumalanga |
Rob Ferreira Hospital:
Witbank Hospital:
Ermelo Hospital:
Mapulaneng Hospital:
|
Themba Hospital:
|
|
Northern Cape |
Information not yet received |
North West |
|
|
|
Western Cape |
|
END.
23 December 2022 - NW3249
Matumba, Mr A to ask the Minister of Social Development
Whether her department has a plan in place to distribute sanitary towels in the North West the same way free condoms are distributed; if not, why not; if so what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The implementation of the Sanitary Dignity Implementation Policy Framework (SDIP) and the Sanitary Dignity Programme is coordinated and monitored by the DWYPD. The equitable share budget allocation is given to various implementing provinces from National Treasury. At National level, the implementation of the programme is shared between Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Department of Social Development (DSD). National DSD implements the programme in four (4) provinces, which is Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Western Cape and Eastern Cape while DBE implements in five (5) provinces namely Free State, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West.
However, the province has strategically included the target for provision of sanitary towels in the Annual Performance Plan. Learners who are mostly vulnerable and those in quintile 1 and 2 schools in the townships and villages and farm schools are provided with dignitary packs on a quarterly basis.
The Department provides sanitary towels, on a small scale, to targeted learners from impoverished households and disadvantaged schools. Also, provision for sanitary towels is made as a form of intervention during disasters. The Department is targeting 10 000 beneficiaries to receive dignity packs in this financial year. In 2016, the
Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities scaled up the provision of sanitary towels to benefit the majority of girl-children in quintile one and quintile two schools. During this period, it was decided that the NW Department of Education is strategically positioned to roll - out the large scale provisioning of sanitary towels to beneficiaries in North West Province.
The Department of Basic Education may be in a better position to provide specifics in terms of the number of sanitary towels provided and cost implications.
23 December 2022 - NW4019
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Considering that at the Subtrop Transformation Summit held in Tzaneen on 26 May 2022, she pointed out that the Government was ready to deal with the contentious issue of national communal land tenure and in taking steps towards the regularisation of communal land rights, what (a) percentage and (b) hectarage of communal land is currently not surveyed in (i) the Republic and (ii) each of the nine provinces?
Reply:
(a)(b)(i),(ii) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is not in a position to indicate the extent of communal land currently not surveyed in the Republic and in each nine provinces. However, DALRRD will investigate the extent of properties falling under communal land that are still to be surveyed in the Republic and the report will be provided.
23 December 2022 - NW4095
Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development
What are the reasons that the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant of caregivers did not reflect on their SA Social Security Agency accounts for the month of October 2022?
Reply:
The COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress for the period of October 2022 was assessed and paid during the month of October. SASSA is not aware of any challenge experienced by beneficiaries relating to non payment for the month in question. However, there may, be challenges with individual accounts that SASSA is not aware of. Individuals who need further clarity on their payment status for a particular month or this month in question (October 2022) can review such on the application portal or by contacting the call centre on 0800 60 10 11 or [email protected]
23 December 2022 - NW3150
Masango, Ms B to ask the Minister of Social Development
What measures have been put in place by (a) her department and (b) the SA Social Security Agency to ensure that social grants are paid only to those persons who qualify for them; (2) what punitive measures have her department put in place against (a) persons who unduly benefited from receiving social grants through fraud and/or corruption and (b) officials who have helped such persons to unduly benefit from receiving social grants through fraud and/or corruption? NW3860E
Reply:
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the whole Department of social Development (DSD) portfolio has adopted Zero Tolerance stance on fraud and corruption.
1. Taking into account that payments of social grants is largely technology driven, various Information Communication and Technology (ICT) capabilities have been developed to prevent fraud during payment of social grants. These include interfaces with other government departments which host citizens’ databases. This will strengthen SASSA’s ability to validate information on income for applicants, and also to regularly monitor changes in beneficiary circumstances, which may not always be timeously reported by beneficiaries.
SASSA has existing interfaces with Department of Home Affairs to confirm identity and life status, as well as, Persal and Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) interfaces confirming employment in the public sector, and or a pension from government.
SASSA has also implemented interfaces to perform bank account verification to ensure that the account details correspond with that of the applicant.
Other interfaces which are being added in the current financial year, including Department of Correctional Services database (to validate whether the applicant is in a Correctional Services facility) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). This is to determine whether the client is currently contributing to UIF, as this could affect the amount of the grant to which he/she is entitled. Additional interfaces will be added as they are identified and negotiated with other organisations. These interfaces already exist with the COVID SRD and will be incorporated into the existing grants as well.
These capabilities should strengthen the ability of SASSA to validate the information provided on application of a grant, and can also be used to inform the need to review existing social grants in the future.
2. SASSA’s fraud corrective mechanism is mainly on prevention capability as indicated above, however, loss recovery, disciplinary action and criminal referrals are additional mechanisms
a) When SASSA finds any person to have unduly benefitted, criminal referrals and loss recovery processes are undertaken.
b) As a mechanism of resolving cases wherein an official is suspected to have assisted such unduly beneficiary, (i) criminal referral, (ii) loss recovery as well as (iii) disciplinary actions are undertaken.
23 December 2022 - NW3865
Opperman, Ms G to ask the Minister of Social Development
What steps will her department take in response to the Auditor-General’s finding that her department has not adequately addressed material irregularities related to payments made to beneficiaries who did not qualify to receive the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant?
Reply:
The AGSA made the following recommendations to address the material irregularity findings, which SASSA intends to comply with:
1. Reasonable steps should be taken to implement internal controls to prevent and detect payments to ineligible beneficiaries and these should include verifying the applicants against the latest available databases, maintaining an audit trail of verifications that were performed and cancellation of further payments to ineligible beneficiaries.
a) SASSA has already implemented this at the time the material irregularity was issued. It was also found that a fair amount of the AGSA data was incorrect; thus further pointing to the reliance only on database to be insufficient.
b) As it is not possible to have every single database in the country and noting that these databases are not perfect – a further verification step was implemented in April 2022; whereby SASSA also checks funds in bank accounts against a predetermined threshold. While these have risks as well, they do provide a more reliable, real time data source than the other databases.
2. Appropriate action should be taken to recover payments made to ineligible beneficiaries that were working for the state at the time of applying for the grant. The recovery process should not be unduly delayed.
- SASSA has written to the all the departments who have public servants that may have unduly benefited from the COVID SRD grant requesting them to verify the employment of the officials in their department; and to assist SASSA with debt recovery if employment is confirmed.
- Many of the departments have acknowledged receipt of the request and are eager to assist.
- The Public Service Commission will also assist the department with following up with the government departments; especially those that do not assist.
3. Appropriate action should be taken to obtain legal advice on the process to be followed to recover monies paid to ineligible beneficiaries who are not employed by the state. Based on the legal advice, the feasibility and cost effectiveness of recovering the money should be determined and if it is determined that such recovery is feasible and cost effective then such money should be recovered from the ineligible beneficiaries who are not employed by the state.
a) SASSA will undertake the investigation into determining the feasibility of recovering debt from the non-public servants.
Over and above the AGSA’s recommendations, SASSA is also working with the fusion centre as well as law enforcement agencies to investigate the criminal aspect of defrauding the state. To date, criminal referrals against these public servants is at 887. More cases will be referred during the current and next quarters respectively.
23 December 2022 - NW3861
Hlongo, Ms AS to ask the Minister of Social Development
In line with the theme of Social Development Month, United in the Fight Against Poverty and Other Social Ills, as well as the commitment by her department to build self-reliant communities, what (a) opportunities and (b) partnerships will her department to roll out in the remainder of the current administration to link beneficiaries of grants with sustainable opportunities to sustain their livelihoods?
Reply:
a) The opportunities that the Department will roll out include investing in the capacities of our people and the support of the sustainable livelihood’s interventions in all nine provinces. In celebrating social development Month in October, the department promote procurement from community-based entities especially from women and youth that can participate in the value chain of delivering social development services, e.g. SRD uniforms for kids are sourced from the local cooperatives) These are used as part of empowerment and providing them with opportunities to ensure that they access economic empowerment. All these creates a market for the local producing cooperatives and SMMEs, thereby fostering local economic development through the income generated from the departmental funding.
The department also create opportunities through developing appropriate interventions at Individual, Household and Community level, as support for them through
-
- Further education and training particularly for youth and women
- Linkage with Public employment programs (CWP/EPWP)/Private.
-
- Facilitating the establishment of Co-operatives and SMME (small &medium enterprises).
b) The department through provinces partners with several stakeholders and NPOs to provide sustainable livelihoods to vulnerable and poor individuals and households.
Over the next 3 years the social development portfolio, DSD, SASSA and NDA will be partnering with local NPOs, FINMARK Trust, that has received donor funds from one of the world largest development agencies, BRAC, to pilot the linking of child support grant caregivers to sustainable livelihoods.
The pilots will be conducted in three provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Free State. This will give a good break down of rural, peri-urban and urban sites.
The pilot phase is lengthy, however the goal is to not only determine feasibility of the project, but to attempt to produce a sustainable programme that is adequately quantified and that can be considered for scaling up.
Two sites have been identified in each province, with a SASSA local office being the focal point. Engagements were held with the local leadership in most of the provinces and the project has been well received. Project managers have been appointed and are expected to assume duty soon. The appointment of firms to do market and livelihood assessments are also in an advance stage.
In addition, the Department is entering into a partnership with the UNDP on the following:
-
- To establish, support and strengthen an integrated Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in South Africa
- To support government to provide a robust, coherent and harmonised enabling environment for social enterprises to thrive, including strengthening coordination, partnership, policy, research, advocacy and resource mobilization; and
- To promote a culture of social entrepreneurship through capacity development
It is planned that through this partnership we will further the objective of linking beneficiaries of grants with sustainable opportunities to sustain their livelihoods.
23 December 2022 - NW4094
Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development
What number of the total number of 761 officials of the SA Social Security Agency who were found to have been involved in fraudulent activities, (a) have faced disciplinary hearings and (b) have repaid the monies they accumulated through fraudulent activities?
Reply:
The figure of 761 is not the number of officials but it is the number of financial misconduct cases. These cases are not related to fraudulent activities, but to the following
- failure to prevent occurrence of irregular expenditure;
- fruitless and wasteful expenditure;
- damages and losses within SASSA.
In addressing these cases, SASSA has implemented the following disciplinary corrective actions: :
a) Disciplinary corrective measures were completed were completed against two hundred and twenty-one (221) officials . The outcomes were used to support submissions of condonation to National Treasury for irregular expenditure cases. It is a requirement that before any condonation is granted the Agency should have completed disciplinary corrective measures.
Consequence measures finalised in relation to employees are reflected in the table below:
Financial Misconduct Cases |
No employees |
No of cases |
Damages and Losses |
105 |
129 |
Fruitless and Wasteful |
15 |
35 |
Irregular expenditure |
101 |
597 |
221 |
761 |
b) Recovery is largely pursued in cases of fruitless and wasteful expenditure or damages and losses.
c) R92 826.39 has been recovered to date based on the payment/recovery agreement with a particular debtor (recovery at times is based on monthly payments).
23 December 2022 - NW3966
George, Dr DT to ask the Minister of Social Development
Whether her department and the National Treasury have agreed on a comprehensive social relief package to address the growing levels of food insecurity in the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The pandemic and the consequent lock-down exacerbated the loss of household income and increased hunger, which heightened the demand for the Department to provide food relief and Social Relief of Distress (SRD). As a result, the Department, in consultation with the Presidency, National Treasury and other relevant stakeholders, developed and implemented a social relief package for a period of six (6) months which was inclusive of the COVID-19 SRD (cSRD) and social grant top-ups.
However, most of the relief packages came to an end in October 2020 with an exception of the cSRD. It should be noted that the cSRD was initially extended by 3 months to January 2021, then by a further 3 months to April 2021. In July 2022, it was further extended to March 2022, after which it was extended for a full financial year from April 2022 to March 2023 under the Social Assistance Regulations. At its peak, the SRD grant was able to support 10.9 million beneficiaries in March 2022, but this has declined to 8.1 million people as at mid-November, due to stricter qualification criteria. The majority of beneficiaries have confirmed that they used the money primarily for food, followed by electricity and masks for personal protection during the pandemic.
The Minister of Finance in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement has announced a further extension of the cSRD until the end of the 2023/24 financial year, which is welcomed by the Department.
The extension of the provision until 2023/24 financial year will provide some assistance to cushion the effects of poverty, food insecurity and the high inflation rate amongst the poor, particularly the working-age population, who have been hardest hit by the pandemic, whilst a sustainable permanent intervention is being explored. Further engagement is ongoing with the National Treasury regarding longer term interventions, including other complementary measures linked to labour activation measures.
The Department also implements the Household Food and Nutrition security programme throughout nine Provinces. Vulnerable and poor individuals aged 19 -59 years are provided with cooked meals served at 282 Community Nutrition and Development Centres (CNDCs) that are spread in the most remote areas of the country.
23 December 2022 - NW3880
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Social Development
With regard to her department’s call centre, (a) what (i) total number of calls are received on average in each month and (ii) number of the specified calls are prank calls and (b) what total number of (iii) calls are not related to issues of gender-based violence and (iv) total gender-based violence cases are successfully attended to in each month through the call centre?
Reply:
a) (i) The department’s call centre during the period April 2022 – October 2022 received a total number of 4148 calls average per month.
ii) Currently GBVCC does not have a system to identify prank callers, all cases are treated as real cases. It is only after many times and or months that a specific official will determine if it is a prank call. Their numbers will reflect as regular callers. Victims of GBVF can sometimes call and drop calls when facing threats, which makes it difficult to always determine prank callers. There are also regular callers who either give feedback, refer cases or need further assistance. This is an area for development.
iii) A total number of 2648 calls were received during the period April –October 2022 that are not related to issues of gender-based violence
Incident Type |
Number of Calls Received: Non GBV Cases |
April |
May |
June |
July |
August |
Septemb er |
October |
Total |
|
Anger Management |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
21 |
Behavioural Problems |
4 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
10 |
49 |
Child Adoption |
1 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
Child Custody/Visitation |
12 |
23 |
20 |
10 |
12 |
13 |
10 |
100 |
Child Maintenance |
7 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
2 |
8 |
47 |
Counselling Death |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Counselling Depression |
7 |
14 |
17 |
13 |
21 |
8 |
5 |
85 |
Counselling Marriage & Relationships |
22 |
44 |
32 |
18 |
47 |
35 |
35 |
233 |
COVID - 19 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Economic/Financial Abuse |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
Funding |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
Home Affairs Related |
9 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
31 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Labour Dispute |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
14 |
Legal Advice |
6 |
11 |
7 |
2 |
12 |
14 |
5 |
57 |
Matric |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Other type of Incident |
241 |
270 |
218 |
231 |
384 |
213 |
232 |
1789 |
SASSA Grants |
19 |
13 |
25 |
12 |
10 |
15 |
14 |
108 |
Substance Abuse |
8 |
12 |
17 |
8 |
17 |
9 |
9 |
80 |
Xenophobia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
342 |
415 |
368 |
316 |
535 |
326 |
346 |
2648 |
iv) A total number of 1958 Gender-based violence cases were successfully attended to in each month through the call Centre during the period
Incident Type |
Number of Calls Received: GBV Cases |
|||||||
April |
May |
June |
July |
August |
Septembe r |
October |
Total |
|
Abandoned Children |
2 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
Abduction/ Kidnapping |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
Assault |
9 |
13 |
6 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
11 |
75 |
Bullying |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
21 |
Child Neglect |
20 |
42 |
38 |
16 |
35 |
29 |
18 |
198 |
Child Pornography |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Elderly Neglect |
2 |
5 |
1 |
7 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
33 |
Emotional Abuse |
41 |
33 |
35 |
37 |
41 |
49 |
28 |
264 |
Forced Initiation |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Forced Prostitution |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Hate Speech |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Human Trafficking |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
Incest |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Indecent Assault |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Molestation |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
Physical Violence |
155 |
175 |
113 |
122 |
158 |
137 |
125 |
985 |
Rape/Corrective Rape |
16 |
34 |
29 |
15 |
23 |
27 |
22 |
166 |
Sexual Harassment |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
Stalking |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
Verbal Abuse or Intimidation |
24 |
25 |
24 |
24 |
27 |
26 |
16 |
166 |
Total |
276 |
339 |
259 |
238 |
317 |
294 |
235 |
1958 |
23 December 2022 - NW3881
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Social Development
What are the relevant details of her plans (a) for the employment of social workers who have been trained by the State, but remains unemployed and (b) to have funds ring-fenced for the employment of social workers?
Reply:
What are the relevant details of her plans
a) For the employment of social workers who have been trained by the State, but remain unemployed.
- The Department has developed a draft sector strategy for the employment of social service professionals inclusive of social workers. This sector strategy addresses the employment of Social Service Professionals (SSPs) in Departments, Provinces, Agencies, Local Government, and the private sector.
The plan looks at various opportunities to employ SSPs, but not limited to;
- Employment by Provinces
- Employment by Sector Departments
- Internship program targeting unemployed graduates
- Short-term contracts based on the availability of funds (Presidential Employment Stimulus)
-
-
- Employment through the Health & Welfare Sector, Education, and Training Agency
-
b) To have funds ring-fenced for the employment of Social Workers?
-
- The Department is currently reviewing the request for funding bid for the employment of SSPs, to focus only on Provincial Departments for Social Development.
- The funding bid will be submitted to National Treasury.
- The Department is continuously engaging the provinces and other Departments such as Education, SAPS, and Defence to prioritize and fill vacant SSPs posts.
23 December 2022 - NW3859
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Social Development:
Whether, considering that 50 000 parents have asked Premier Panyaza Lesufi to assist their children who are addicted to drugs and need rehabilitation, she has found that her department has an effective plan to combat substance abuse in communities; if not, why not; if so, what plan?
Reply:
The Department of Social Development has a National Drug Master Plan (NDMP) 2019-2024 which is a product of broad consultation with relevant stakeholders. NDMP has been endorsed by Parliament and is clarifies roles and responsibilities of different government departments and other stakeholders. The Central Drug Authority (CDA), established in terms of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act (Act 70 of 2008) is responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the NDMP. The implementation of the NDMP at Provincial and local levels is guided by the Provincial Substance Abuse Forums and Local Drug Action Committees established in terms of Act 70 of 2008. Annually CDA submits to Parliament Progress Report on the implementation of the NDMP. The following are the goals of the NDMP:
Goal 1: Demand reduction through prevention and treatment of drug use, misuse and abuse.
Goal 2: Supply reduction through multi-sectoral cooperation.
Goal 3: Ensuring availability of and access to controlled substances exclusively for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion.
Goal 4: Identify trends and control of new psychoactive substances.
Goal 5: Promote governance, leadership, and accountability for a coordinated multi- sectoral effective response, including economic development at community levels.
Goal 6: Strengthening data collection, monitoring, evaluation and research evidence for an evidence-based response.
Goal 7: Stimulate robust and sustainable economic growth aimed at reducing poverty, unemployment and inequalities.
Government developed an Integrated Anti-Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programme of Action aimed at addressing the Substance Use and Abuse at community level. The following are the Objectives of the Programme of Action:
To review and align liquor, Policy and legislations
To educate and create awareness on alcohol and substance abuse
To increase and strengthen the availability of services and resources to civil society organizations dealing with alcohol-related harm across South Africa
To review institutional mechanisms to prevent and manage alcohol and drug use in the country
23 December 2022 - NW3832
George, Dr DT to ask the Minister of Social Development
Whether a SA Social Security Agency office will be established in Knysna; if not, why not; if so, (a) on what date will it be established and (b) what services will be offered?
Reply:
a) The Agency cannot provide an exact date on which a Fixed Service Office will be established in Knysna. The acquisition process has both Municipal and Agency dependencies. This includes the procurement process which is done through the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
SASSA services are currently provided on a scheduled basis in the following areas within Knysna:
- Hornlee
- Sedgefield
- Rheenendal
- Khayalethu
- Karatara
b) SASSA met the Municipality on 20 October 2022 to enquire about the availability of government owned sites in Knysna to establish a Fixed Service Office and the following resolutions were agreed to:
- The Municipality to provide SASSA with a comprehensive list of government owned sites by 31 October 2022.
- SASSA must determine the best option and provide the Municipality with an expression of interest by the 3rd week of November 2022.
- Should there be no feasible site available, the procurement process through the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure will commence.
23 December 2022 - NW3441
Matiase, Mr NS to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether there has been any progress on the process of appointing a Master Data Specialist, who should have been appointed by the end of September 2020; if not, why not; if so, what progress has been made in this regard?
Reply:
Yes. The Office of the Special Master had consulted with the Minister and Director General of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) (DG) and obtained concurrence from Executive Management. The Court granted the Office of the Special Master permission to fill the two additional posts, but the filling of the posts is subject to the job evaluation process.
A job description was developed for the post by benchmarking against similar posts with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). The benchmark job evaluation process for the post of Master Data Specialist was conducted for similar posts in the defunct departments (DAFF and DRDLR) and within the DPME and the job evaluation (JE) results for both posts were salary level (SL) 13 that were approved by the Minister on 11 May 2021. However, the processes for the development of the job descriptions and the JE benchmarking took longer than anticipated and the Special Master requested that filling the position not be continued. The Special Master was seeking alternative solutions in reconfiguring the roles and the budget repurposing to rather appoint graduates intended for the research roles, and this was envisaged that post-doctoral and or post-graduate degree holders in the Humanities field will be appointed as field research leaders while the auxiliary staff will be first and honours degree holders in Geography / Survey / Agriculture/ History/ Business Administration / Economics, etc. These disciplines bear direct relevance to using innovative technological tools to build evidence and embed sustainable livelihoods in land claims resolutions. The field research leaders will be expected to participate in delivering capacity development and training workshops with the Special Master and his core staff to develop the capabilities of existing departmental staff working on labour tenant claims resolution. The Special Master was advised to seek approval from the Minister to reconfigure the roles, instead of the two approved positions, namely 1 X Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and 1 X Master Data Specialist.
To institutionalise the Office of the Special Master within DALRRRD, special focus will be given in the Fit-for-Purpose Project to restructure and repurpose current posts to support the Office of the Special Master as follows:
- Permanent establishment of a national unit with a provincial footprint (provincial and district level) that will address the labour tenant functions;
- Mapping of business process for labour tenants;
- Development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); and
- Determine capacity requirements and create post establishments to address the need.
DALRRD is therefore, in the process to fill the following positions allocated to the Office of the Special Master:
- 1 x Systems and Operations Manager post filled.
- 1 x Programme Administrator and Office Manager post filled.
- 1 x Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Manager post filled.
- 1 x Office Assistant post filled.
- 1 x National Programme Manager post. Post advertised and the closing date for the advertisement was 20221014. Filling of the post is anticipated by 28 February 2023.
- 1 x Programme Coordinator. Seconded from the DALRRD.
- 1 x Senior Administrative Officer post. Filling of the post through the Recruitment and Selection or Transfer Processes and filling of the post is anticipated by 28 February 2023.
- 1 x Messenger post. Filling of the post through the Recruitment and Selection or Transfer Processes and filling of the post is anticipated by 28 February 2023.
23 December 2022 - NW3853
Siwisa, Ms AM to ask the Minister of Social Development
With reference to the reply to question 3364 on 10 October 2022, pertaining to the lack of shelters for victims of gender-based violence and femicide in the Northern Cape rural areas, what (a) are the reasons that there are none and the specified province has to rely on neighbouring provinces for assistance and (b) plans have been put in place to establish shelters in the Northern Cape?
Reply:
a) There are two districts with no shelters in the Province, it is Namaqua and John Taolo Gaetsewe districts. The Department did not establish a shelter in Namaqua District in the past years due to the fact that there was no statistics of victims needing sheltering services in the district.
John Taolo district also does not have a shelter but has a White Door Centre to accommodate victims who need sheltering services.
b) Plans are underway to finalize the establishment of shelters in Namakwa and JTG Districts. There is a white door in Bankara Budulong in JTG District for emergency placement. Clients who prefer sheltering services are not taken to neighbouring Provinces, but are given the option to be admitted to a shelter in the Northern Cape Province.
The renovations for the shelter in Nababeep and purchasing of furniture is completed and the agreement between the Municipality and Department, must be finalized, before operationalization can occur.
The decision regarding the condition of the shelter between DSD and Kathu Solar Park, will be finalized in November 2022, which will determine the Plan of Action.
23 December 2022 - NW3864
Masango, Ms B to ask the Minister of Social Development:
What (a) total number of civil society organisations were invited to the Presidential Social Sector Summit and (b) are the details of the role her department played in inviting the specified organisations?
Reply:
a) A Presidential Social Sector Summit which was held on the 4th and 5th August 2022, was physically attended by a total of 1 032 civil society organisations.
To maximise reach, various online platforms were created to ensure participation. A total of 59 251 Civil society organisations connected and provincial breakdown attendance by location was as follows:
Cape Town – 12 411
Pretoria – 11 387
Durban – 8 542
Soweto – 5 868
Johannesburg – 6 069
Port Elizabeth – 3 481
Polokwane – 3 249
Bloemfontein – 3 243
East London – 2 538
Pietermaritzburg – 2 463
Those who connected virtually were represented with gender proportion of 38.6% males and 61.4% females.
b) The Department of Social Development was a coordinating department responsible for organising the summit. A steering committee was set up consisting of Department of Social Development, Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), National Planning Commission (NPC), National Development Agency (NDA) and Civil Society represented by National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) Community Constituency.
The Department was responsible to invite other government departments from the Social Cluster, and to invite about 406 NPOs, in addition, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) Community Constituency was also allocated a responsibility to invite 50 civil society organisations from its constituency.
23 December 2022 - NW3591
Cebekhulu, Inkosi RN to ask the Minister of Finance
With reference to the revelation that was made earlier in the year where Cabinet had apparently blown more than R20 million in public funds on buying fuel and brand new luxury cars, what are the relevant details of the proactive accountability systems and measures of his department to ensure that the spending of Cabinet Ministers is within the confines of the budget given to them to spend on cars and fuel, particularly one that would flag and address the wasteful expenditure sooner as opposed to at the end of the year?
Reply:
The Honourable Member should note that Cabinet does not have any spending authority as an entity and its activities are funded under the vote of the Presidency, so it is incorrect to suggest that Cabinet as an entity has “blown” any public funds. Any spending to support a Cabinet Minister is done under the vote of the relevant department that a Cabinet Minister is responsible for, so any spending on official vehicles or fuel for any Cabinet Minister is done through their departmental vote, and not by Cabinet.
With regard to how spending on official vehicles is regulated by the National Treasury, it should be noted that Treasury issued an instruction no 6 of 2019-2020, revising the threshold for the procurement of official vehicles for members of the executive from R700 000 to R800 000.
The National Treasury also facilitates a transversal term contract (RT57) for the outright purchase of vehicles. Participation on the contract is voluntary as provided for by Treasury Regulation 16A6.5 and purchases of vehicles on the contract takes place at an organ of state level through the RT57 transversal term contract. Organs of state are compelled by the instruction issued to adhere to the limit that was set by the National Treasury when purchasing vehicles for the members of executive, regardless of whether a department chooses to use the transversal contract.
Adherence to the instruction is monitored on an annual basis through the audit process, and non-compliance leads to an audit finding that the relevant accounting office should account for with the Auditor-General and Parliament. Given that accounting officers have discretion on the procurement approach, there is no practical arrangement in place to monitor each transaction that participating organs of state undertake at the time when each transaction takes place.
Individual departments are responsible to make decisions on replacing the Executive Member vehicle on reaching the set mileage of 120000 kilometers or 5 years or when the vehicle experiencing mechanical problems as per the provisions of the Guide.
Any additional maintenance, such as tyres, fuel, oil, toll fees and repairs should be done through a transversal contract administered by the Department of Transport for this purpose. Therefore, the Department of Transport is best positioned to answer whether systems are in place to monitor in-year compliance to the limits set in the transversal contract relating to spending on fuel.
23 December 2022 - NW3751
Marais, Ms P to ask the Minister of Social Development
Noting how her department has underspent on nonprofit organisations (NPOs), what measures has she taken to ensure that functional NPOs receive much- needed funding?
Reply:
The Department provide funding to variety of NPOs to render Social development services in all nine Provinces. These NPOs are functional as they deliver of much needed services. Functional NPOs do receive the funding based on the amounts agreed upon the service level agreements (SLAs).
Certain processes are followed before the funds are transferred to these functional organizations including:
- Timeous submission of progress reports and relevant documents by the NPOs
- Proof that the funds are utilized for the intended purposes.
- Compliance with the registration and governance principles as stated in the SLAs and the NPO Act.
Most of the funds that were returned to National Treasury related to the ECD conditional grant and as such cannot be diverted to other programmes.
In addition, NPO’s are also exposed to capacity building programmes that empowers them on number of aspects including financial management, governance and resource mobilization. All these efforts are aimed at empowering NPOs to render quality
services and to empower them to mobilize resources from various sources thus building a sustainable NPO sector in the country.
23 December 2022 - NW3866
Opperman, Ms G to ask the Minister of Social Development:
What steps will her department take to address the increase in irregular expenditure from R3 million in the 2020-21 financial year to R 14,6 million in the 2021-22 financial year?What steps will her department take to address the increase in irregular expenditure from R3 million in the 2020-21 financial year to R 14,6 million in the 2021-22 financial year?
Reply:
The following steps have been taken by the Department in an effort to reduce irregular expenditure going forward.
1. The Supply Chain Management unit has undergone internal training on fraud and corruption indicators. This training was considered essential to ensure that the unit is capacitated on these aspects.
2. The Supply Chain Management officials and Bid Committees officials continuously attend relevant training that is coordinated by the National Treasury.
2. The CFO has written a letter to the National Treasury requesting assistance with price index and Central Supplier Database (CSD) compliance issues.
4. A Contract Management unit will also be incorporated within the Supply Chain Management Unit. The Contract Management team will monitor the SITA
transversal contracts for updates and validity to ensure that all SITA transversal contracts that the department utilises are valid during the procurement process.
5. The SCM Policy will be reviewed during the month of November 2022. The irregular expenditure cases have been referred to Internal Control for investigation. The outcome of the investigations will determine if any official is liable for the expenditure and the Directorate Labour Relations will assist with the disciplinary processes.
6. Over and abovementioned preventative, detective, and corrective control measures, the SCM staff and the Finance management, in general, will attend the root cause identification training for empowering the entire SCM officials to identify any non-compliance to prevent potential irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure before they are realised in the departments underlying accounting records.
7. The department’s governance structures such as risk management and the internal audit units will also work closely with management to provide advisory services while internal audit will also provide assurance services.
23 December 2022 - NW3882
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Social Development
Whether it was the policy position of her department to not register new Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) as they were not at capacity, and that no new CYCCs will be funded by and/or registered with her department in the 2021-22 financial year; if not, what evidence does her department have in support of the specified policy position that CYCCs are not at capacity; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether it remains the position of her department that it will no longer fund CYCCs; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether her department has the long-term goal to centralise funds into a central account and fund projects directly without making use of the services of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and/or does her department continue to value its partnership with NGOs and nonprofit organisations; if not, what is the position in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
Reply:
1. The Provincial Departments of Social Development continue to register new Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) that meet the minimum norms and standard as per the relevant legislation. There is no policy
position that the department will not register or fund new Child and Youth Care Centres for 2021/2022 financial year.
The department funds CYCCs to provide residential care services to children in need of care and protection. Funding is dependent on the need and availability of budget during a particular financial year. Specific to the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD), the said Provincial Department is reviewing its service delivery modalities in line with the Institutional Re-alignment Project. The said Project is informed by the approved Service Delivery Model and the Organizational Re-alignment which are aligned to the GDSD Organogram. The main aim of the GDSD Project is to build capacity of the state towards the delivery of services that are constitutional mandates. This re-alignment will take place from the 2023/2024 financial year, and, will be funded mainly from within the Department. The retrieval of services will not be considered for residential care facilities at this point due to limited capacity on the side of the Department. This includes CYCCs, Shelters for Homeless, Shelters for victims of GBV, Residential Facilities for Older Persons, Residential Facilities for Persons with Disabilities, In-patient Treatment Centres and Halfway Houses. Reference to capacity therefore relates to the Gauteng Department of Social Development and not to CYCCs.
2. Based on available funding allocated by the Treasuries, the Department will continue to fund CYCCs as well as process their registration as per the legislative prescripts
3. The Department has not explored the long-term goal to centralise funds into a central account to fund projects directly without making use of the services of Non-Profit Organisations. Specific to the Gauteng Province and in line with the Institutional Re-alignment Project (IRP), the Department will identify and retrieve services from the following organizations:
- Non-performing/dysfunctional NPOs (non-centre-based services, non-compliant NPOs or NPOs suspended from service)
- Certain statutory services (e.g., new foster care cases, adoption services, etc.)
The aim of this IRP is to ensure that funding is directed toward priority areas and programmes. This Project is a Gauteng provincial initiative and does not imply to other provinces.
23 December 2022 - NW3698
Marais, Ms P to ask the Minister of Social Development
Following the assessment conducted in the Free State, which shows that children younger than five years are dying due to malnutrition, what steps of intervention has she taken to completely eradicate malnutrition?
Reply:
Social Development provides support in the rehabilitation phase of treatment for children referred to the Department after discharge from inpatient care as well as those referred from outpatient treatment to access various social security interventions to promote recovery. However, we support the preventative interventions to reduce malnutrition cases.
Some of the preventive interventions implemented by the Department of Social Development in collaboration with the Department of Health include: improving access to high-quality foods through food relief distribution and access to health care; improving nutrition and health knowledge through training and capacity building of practitioners and centres personnel; effectively promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life where appropriate; promoting improved complementary feeding practices for all children aged 6–24 months — with a focus on ensuring access to age-appropriate complementary foods (where possible using locally available foods); and improving hygiene practices to protect children against communicable diseases.
Among the other key factors that contributes to deaths in children admitted in health facilities with severe acute malnutrition includes: delay in seeking care and children who present with other complications namely diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Furthermore, kindly provide us with more information regarding the assessment conducted as referred to in the question for referral to our Health counterparts to profile the affected families so that we can provide comprehensive response to the affected area.
21 December 2022 - NW4056
Kohler-Barnard, Ms D to ask the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologie
What is the name of the member of the board of trustees who took the decision to propose writing off R650 million owed to the Post Office medical aid to the other members at the Post Office Annual General Meeting in June? NW5064E
Reply:
The South African Post Office did not have an Annual General Meeting in June 2022.
Authorised for submission by _______________
MS. NONKQUBELA JORDAN-DYANI
DIRECTOR-GENERAL (ACTING)
DATE:
Recommended/not recommended
_______________________________
HON. PHILLY MAPULANE, MP DEPUTY MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
DATE:
Approved/ not approved
___________________________________
HON. KHUMBUDZO NTSHAVHENI, MP
MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
DATE:
19 December 2022 - NW4513
Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Tourism
What (a) number of persons have applied for funds from the (i) Green Incentive Fund applicants in the past two quarters and (ii) the specified applicants were successful, (b) amount did each successful applicant receive and (c) was the purpose for which the amount was received by each such applicant?
Reply:
(a) (i) No persons have applied for financial support under the Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP) during Quarter One (Q1) and Quarter Two (Q2) of the 2022/2023 Financial Year as there were no GTIP application windows open during this period.
Applications for the GTIP are managed through defined application windows, during which a call for applications are published to encourage prospective applicants to submit applications for support in line with the programme guidelines.
During Q1 and Q2 of the 2022/2023 Financial Year, the GTIP team was busy processing pipeline applications including the 179 applications received during the previous application window that was open from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The next application window opened on 10 October 2022 and will close on 31 January 2023, after which the number of applications received can be reported on.
a) (ii) Not applicable
(b) &(c) Not applicable
19 December 2022 - NW4612
Le Goff, Mr T to ask the Minister of Tourism
(a) How does her department intend to improve the state of the Bourke’s Luck Potholes site, (b) what are the reasons for the current status of the specified site and (c) how does her department intend to ensure that (i) the state of the site does not continue to deteriorate in the future and (ii) tourism numbers increase at the site?
Reply:
(a)-(c)Tourism is a concurrent function. Bourkes Luck Potholes is site owned and managed by the Mpumalanga Provincial Government. The Department will, however, engage with the Provincial Department and offer support. The Honourable Member is requested to refer this question to the relevant authority.
19 December 2022 - NW4001
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism
(1) With reference to marketing aimed at international markets since 1 April 2019, (a)(i) what marketing events and/or programmes were executed in each financial year, (ii) where did each marketing event and/or programme take place and (iii) what criteria were used to determine where each marketing event and/or programme would take place, (b)(i) who were the partners in each case, (ii) what criteria were used to determine which partners would be used for each market event and/or programme, (iii) on what date did each marketing event and/or programme take place in each case and (iv) which markets was each event and/or programme aimed at in each financial year, and (c) what amount was budgeted and spent in each financial year for each market; (2) (a) how are the successes and failures of the marketing events and/or programmes measured and (b) what are the results of the markets in each year? NW4904E
Reply:
(1) (a) (i) – (ii) Marketing Events
Please refer to the SA Tourism Annual Reports for the periods stated below. For your convenience, a link to each has been provided:
- 01 April 2019- 31 March 2020
South African Tourism Annual Report tabled on 5 November 2020, ATC no 160 of 2020
https://live.southafrica.net/media/278970/sat-annual-report-2019_2020.pdf
Kindly refer to pages 43 to 56
- 01 April 2020 – 31 March 2021
South African Tourism Annual Report tabled on 30 September 2021, ATC no 133 of 2021
https://live.southafrica.net/media/290945/sat-a-report-2020-21-final.pdf
Kindly refer to pages 46 to 61
- 01 April 2021 – 31 March 2022
Annual Report tabled on 30 September 2022, ATC no 150 of 2022…, pages 47 to 54
https://live.southafrica.net/media/298986/south_african_tourism_2021_2022_annual_report.pdf
Kindly refer to pages 47 to 54
- 01 April 2022 – to date
Information will be finalised after the end of the fiscal.
(a) (iii) Criteria for Marketing events
The SA Tourism Marketing Investment Portfolio determines where market activities take place.
(b) (i)-(iv) Partners and Markets
(i) Relevant partners are detailed in the SA Tourism Annual Reports as indicated above.
(ii) Partners are selected based on criteria in the SA Tourism Partnership Policy.
(iii)- (iv) Kindly refer to the South African Tourism Annual Reports as per (1) (a) above
(c) (i) Budget and spent for each Financial Year
- 01 April 2019- 31 March 2020
Information on page 61 of the South African Tourism Annual Report for the 01 April 2019- 31 March 2020 details the budget and expenditure on Leisure Tourism Marketing for the fiscal.
- 01 April 2020- 31 March 2021
Information on page 72 of the of the South African Tourism Annual Report for the 01 April 2020- 31 March 2021 details the budget and expenditure on Leisure Tourism Marketing for the fiscal.
- 01 April 2021- 31 March 2022
Information on page 62 of the of the South African Tourism Annual Report for the 01 April 2021- 31 March 2022 details the budget and expenditure on Leisure Tourism Marketing for the fiscal.
- 01 April 2022 – to date
The Budget is reflected in the Annual Performance Plan for 2022-2023
Kindly find the link below and refer to page 67. Please note the Annual Performance Plan for South African Tourism was tabled on 18 March 2022, ATC no 42 of 2022
Please note the expenditure still needs to be audited
(2) Successes and failures
(a) Evaluation metrics for measuring successes of events and programmes are predetermined and articulated upfront in the respective Annual Performance Plans. Failures will be determined against non-achievement of these.
(b) Performance results can be found in the South African Tourism Annual Reports referred to above.
Kindly note:
- Budgets and targets are available in the tabled Annual Performance Plans since 2019
- Furthermore, information is also available in presentations to the Portfolio Committee by SA Tourism as well as the minutes agreed to by the Portfolio Committee on Tourism since 01 April 2019 to date.
- Responses by the Minister to similar questions on Marketing.
19 December 2022 - NW3767
Matumba, Mr A to ask the Minister of Tourism
(1) What is the total amount spent for her pre-recorded video message warning tourists about crime; (2) whether the expenditure on the specified video was budgeted for; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) how will the video assist in curbing crime against tourists; (4) whether she has found that the taxpayers' money spent on the video will be worth it; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(1) No funds were spent on a pre-recorded video message
(2) There was no budget allocated to a pre-recorded video message
(3) It is the intention of the Department to do a pre-recorded message by the Minister as part of the Festive Season Tourism Safety Awareness campaign. This pre-recorded message will provide precautionary safety tips and advice to tourists, whilst also providing the key emergency numbers should tourists require support. The department’s tourist safety plan, emphasises “Proactive Measures” which include safety awareness messaging like the pre-recorded message. Providing pre-cautionary safety tips and advice to tourist in any form, be it through SMS notification, website posting, pamphlets or leaflets, videos clips, radio messages, etc. is always advisable. It’s a common practice in many countries where authorities use various platforms to provide generic tourist information, including messaging on safety and support.
(4) To reiterate, no money was spent on the pre-recorded message.
19 December 2022 - NW3544
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism
(1) (a) What amount was (i) budgeted and (ii) actually received with regard to the grading fees in each (i) province and (ii) of the past three financial years; (2) what (a) were the reasons for the discrepancies in each case and (b) steps have been taken so that the discrepancies are not repeated in future?
Reply:
Grading fees charged by TGCSA is determined by three (3) variables namely the number of units the establishment has, the category of the establishment and the average room rate. The National Grading system is a voluntary scheme and membership is reliant on members’ intention to be graded. Targets are based on the South African Tourism Annual Performance targets.
1. (a)(i)-(ii) The target for number of graded establishments for the period with accompanying budget and revenue is below:
Year |
TGCSA Budget |
TGCSA Revenue Received |
Target Graded Establishments |
Actual Graded Establishments |
Variance |
Reason for Variance |
2019/20 |
R 58 M |
R 23 M |
6229 |
5 173 |
-1 056 |
High Cancellation Rate |
2020/21 |
R 61 M |
R 18 M |
N/A (Due to Covid-19 pandemic) |
5 034 |
5 034 |
No target set due to the Covid-19 pandemic |
2021/22 |
R64 M |
R 15 M |
5250 |
4 707 |
-543 |
Limited establishments open due to Covid-19 |
The percentage breakdown of establishments per province is reflected below for 2019-20; 2020-21 and Year-to-date (YTD) 2021-22:
(a) (i) and (ii) The percentage breakdown of establishments per province is reflected below for 2019-20; 2020-21 and Year-to-date (YTD) 2021-22:
Province |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
YTD 2021-22 |
Eastern Cape |
12% |
13% |
13% |
Free State |
3% |
3% |
3% |
Gauteng |
22% |
21% |
23% |
KwaZulu Natal |
13% |
13% |
13% |
Limpopo |
7% |
7% |
7% |
Mpumalanga |
7% |
8% |
7% |
North West |
5% |
5% |
5% |
Northern Cape |
3% |
3% |
3% |
Western Cape |
29% |
27% |
26% |
(2) (a) and (b)
2020 – 2021 have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as many establishments suspended trading or closed permanently. Fiscal 2022/23 has seen a return to business and many establishments re-joining TGCSA star grading system. Quality Assurance is key to the tourism sectors success, therefore TGCSA is currently reviewing the post-pandemic consumer requirements and key tourism sector changes to assess the impact of sector change on the TGCSA grading criteria. Many interventions such as workshops, training and the implementation of the Tourism Grading Supporting Program are in progress. Fiscal 2022/23 is on track for the achievement of its current targets of 5 355 Graded establishments for the fiscal.
19 December 2022 - NW3986
Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Tourism
(1)Whether her department has been informed of the nomad e-visas that are being rolled out by 40 countries globally, including Namibia; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether her department has any plans to advocate for nomad e-visas to attract remote workers via interaction with the Department of Home Affairs; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. The Department has become aware through reports in the public domain of the introduction of nomad visa regimes by countries including African countries.
2 The Department of Tourism engages the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on visa matters prioritising tourism priority markets identified in the country’s marketing investment framework.
DHA has indicated during discussions that they are considering the issuing of remote working visas. In addition, one of the five objectives of Operation Vulindlela refers to ‘A visa regime that attracts skills and grows tourism’.
19 December 2022 - NW4611
Le Goff, Mr T to ask the Minister of Tourism
(a) On what date was the Tourism Transformation Council of South Africa (TTCSA) constituted, (b) what is the lifespan of the TTCSA, (c) how were members of the TTCSA chosen, (d) what is their mandate and (e)(i) what is the objective of the TTCSA and (ii) how will this be measured?
Reply:
(a) The Department of Tourism has put transformation at the centre of its programmes since the promulgation of the Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code in 2015. The first Tourism Transformation Council of South Africa was formally known as the Tourism B-BBEE Charter Council, was appointed in 2012. The Council is appointed with representatives from civil society, tourism businesses and labour. In 2019/20 the name was formally changed to the Tourism Transformation Council of South Africa. A call for the nomination of new members to be appointed to the Tourism Transformation Council of South Africa (TTCSA) was issued publicly in the national newspapers on the weekend of 30 October 2022, including on 02 November 2022. The closing date for nominations was 30 November 2022.
(b) The lifespan of the TTCSA is 3 years.
(c) In accordance with the Amended Guidelines for Developing and Gazetting Sector Codes, issued under Section 9 of the B-BBEE Amendment Act, the Minister has the responsibility to appoint members of the Sector Charter Council to monitor transformation in the sector. According to Section 6 of the Act, members of the Council must represent different relevant constituencies including businesses (large and small), trade unions, community-based organisations, youth, academics and others. Criteria for nominees is published in the call for nominations. The Council should consist of not fewer than 10 and no more than 15 members.
(d) The TTCSA is mandated to:
- Provide guidance on sector-specific matters affecting B-BBEE in entities within the sector.
- Compile reports on the status of B-BBEE within the sector.
- Share information with sector members, approved accreditation agencies, B-BBEE Commission, B-BBEE Presidential Advisory Council, the Line Minister and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.
- Monitor the implementation of the Amended Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code.
(e)(i). The TTCSA is appointed to encourage and support transformation in the Tourism sector in order to ensure inclusive growth. The Council monitors the implementation of the objectives of the Amended Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code. The Council also advises the Minister on transformation matters in both the public and private sectors.
(e)((ii). The TTCSA measures the state of transformation in the tourism sector by:
a) Conducting annual studies on the state of implementation of the Amended Tourism B-BBEE Sector Code in the five applicable elements including: Ownership; Management Control; Skills Development; Enterprise and Supplier Development and Socio-Economic Development.
b) Quarterly Reports submitted to the Minister on the business of the Council.
c) Hosting Transformation Dialogues and Roundtables.
d) Submission of adhoc reports as requested by the Minister
19 December 2022 - NW3848
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism
With reference to her replies to questions 2531 and 2532 on 12 December 2021, what are the details of the current status of the (a) recovery process and (b) independent investigation?
Reply:
(a) The department instructed the State Attorney to recover the R50 000.00 from the business owner. Summons was issued and a Default Judgment was obtained. Currently, the State Attorney is waiting for the Court to grant the writ of execution.
(b) The independent investigation is in progress.
19 December 2022 - NW2843
Sithole, Mr KP to ask the Minister of Tourism
What total amount has her department spent on (a) events and conferences, (b) travel, (c) expenses for running her office and (d)(i) flowers, (ii) condolence cards and (iii) stationery for the (aa) her, (bb) the Deputy Minister and (cc) the Director General (aaa) in the 2021-22 financial year and (bbb) since 1 April 2022?
Reply:
(a) Events and conferences
(aaa) 2021-22 financial year |
(bbb) since 1 April 2022 |
|
(aa) Minister |
74 896.07 |
To be audited |
(bb) Deputy Minister |
360 756.65 |
To be audited |
(cc) Director General |
20 848.50 |
To be audited |
(b) Travel
(aaa) 2021-22 financial year |
(bbb) since 1 April 2022 |
|
(aa) Minister |
1 552 304.13 |
To be audited |
(bb) Deputy Minister |
423 837.29 |
To be audited |
(cc) Director General |
39 329.29 |
To be audited |
(c) Expenses for running the office
(aaa) 2021-22 financial year |
(bbb) since 1 April 2022 |
|
(aa) Minister |
985 833.13 |
To be audited |
(bb) Deputy Minister |
648 598.68 |
To be audited |
(cc) Director General |
60 608.48 |
To be audited |
(d) (i) Flowers, (ii) condolence cards
(aaa) 2021-22 financial year |
(bbb) since 1 April 2022 |
|
(aa) Minister |
1 500.00 |
To be audited |
(bb) Deputy Minister |
0.00 |
To be audited |
(cc) Director General |
1 000.00 |
To be audited |
(d) (iii) Stationery
(aaa) 2021-22 financial year |
(bbb) since 1 April 2022 |
|
(aa) Minister |
3 046.70 |
To be audited |
(bb) Deputy Minister |
65 341.10 |
To be audited |
(cc) Director General |
4 240.00 |
To be audited |
19 December 2022 - NW3829
Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Tourism
How is SA Tourism (a) packaging messages around incidents such as the murder of a Ukranian tourist in 2018 and the recent murder of a German tourist and (b) working with the (i) SA Police Service and (ii) private sector to ensure that the image of the Republic as a preferred tourist destination is not tarnished further?
Reply:
How is SA Tourism (a) packaging messages around incidents such as the murder of a Ukranian tourist in 2018 and the recent murder of a German tourist
a) South African Tourism has regularly kept all (domestic and international) trade partners and stakeholders up to date with regards to issues that impact on South Africa including safety and security. To this end, over the last few months, South African Tourism has participated in key trade shows in various parts of the world including IMEX America, International Golf Travel Market in Italy, participation at World Routes in the United States of America and Travel Expo in Zimbabwe and also currently at a Tourism industry leadership conference in Botswana with a constant message that South Africa remains a safe destination.
Following the incident of the murder of the German tourist, South African Tourism released a joint statement together with private sector industry partner, TBCSA, condemning the incident. This was followed by a media briefing led by Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu after having met with the affected tourists and the victim’s wife. South African Tourism has reiterated the Minister’s message that such incidents are taken very seriously as the safety of tourists and citizens alike remains key. Over and above this, in all the marketing and promotional work that South African Tourism embarks on, the message that we are a safe destination is shown through the various interactive and immersive experiences shown in the visual elements through our people.
(b) working with the (i) SA Police Service and (ii) private sector to ensure that the image of the Republic as a preferred tourist destination is not tarnished further?
b) We have a National Tourism Safety Strategy with a view to foster public- private sector partnership in addressing issues of tourism safety in a more coordinated manner to provide an enhanced visitor experience and in the long term to change perceptions of South Africa as an unsafe destination. The National Tourism Safety Strategy is centered upon three key pillars which include, Proactive measures (putting in place measures to ensure that tourists are safe before they embark on a trip), Responsive measures (mechanisms that ensure quick and effective turnaround time to attend to tourist in distress when an incident of crime occur); and Aftercare Programmes (providing care and comfort to tourist in distress immediately after an incident has occurred and beyond).
In working with the SA Police Services and the Department of Tourism, South African Tourism co-ordinates key messaging on a case by case basis with the sole aim of synchronizing messaging and efforts relating to citizen and tourists’ safety in the build up to the festive season and beyond. We continue with our efforts of working with the greater tourism sector in removing any barriers that hinder the growth of our sector.
SA Tourism, Mpumalanga Tourism and the private sector have recently collaborated to improve safety around the access routes into the Kruger National Park.
19 December 2022 - NW4018
Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Tourism
What will her department’s participation and contribution be at the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Egypt in November of this year?
Reply:
The Department of Tourism is not participating in the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Egypt in November 2022. The attendance and participation at Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the responsibility of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment.
19 December 2022 - NW3900
Sithole, Mr KP to ask the Minister of Tourism
Whether, considering that the tourism industry, which has been a jewel in the crown of the Republic for decades and contributing billions of Rands to the fiscus while providing millions of jobs, was decimated when COVID-19 arrived (details furnished), and noting that good and dynamic policy is needed to mitigate and conquer the challenges of crime and unpredictable electricity and water that is slowing the recovery of the tourism industry, her department will provide a comprehensive timeline for the drafting and implementation of the new overall policy for tourism in the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The internal drafting of a new Green Paper for tourism has been finalised and external consultations on the draft are being undertaken. It is intended to finalise the consultations at the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
19 December 2022 - NW3987
Winkler, Ms HS to ask the Minister of Tourism
What (a) social media campaigns is her department running, (b) total amount is her department spending on social media campaigns promoting it on (i) Facebook and (ii) Instagram and (c) other social media platforms is her department using?
Reply:
a) The Department is currently running the Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP) campaign on its social media platforms.
b) No advertising costs have been incurred on the Green Tourism Incentive Programme social media campaign including on i) Facebook ii) Instagram iii) Twitter iv) YouTube and v) LinkedIn.
c) None
19 December 2022 - NW3706
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism
(a) What processes were used to appoint service providers for tourism marketing strategies in international markets in each financial year in each market, (b) who were the appointed service providers, (c) what amount was (i) budgeted and (ii) spent, (d) how are the (i) successes and (ii) failures of the marketing strategies measured, (e) what are the results of the marketing strategies in each market in each year and (f) what lessons have been learnt from the tourism marketing strategies in each of the past three financial years in each case?
Reply:
a) What processes were used to appoint service providers for tourism marketing strategies in international markets in each financial year in each market?
SA Tourism followed the prescribed processes and procedures as outlined in the organisation’s supply chain procurement policy in the appointment of in-market agencies. These were appointed through a competitive bidding process.
(b) who were the appointed service providers? (c) What amount was (i) budgeted and (ii)
spent?
Most agency contracts are not retainer contracts but project-by-project basis contracts.
Services Procured |
Business Unit |
Budgeted and Spent Amounts |
Creative Services |
India- Mumbai |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Digital Services |
India- Mumbai |
Variable cost |
Event Management, Activation and Brand Experience Services |
India- Mumbai |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Media Buy |
India- Mumbai |
Rate Card |
Integrated Marketing Services |
South Europe Office |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Digital Activation and Creative Services |
Central Europe |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Integrated PR & Marketing Services |
Central Europe |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Media Buy |
Australia |
Rate card/Variable cost |
B2C & B2B Media Strategy, planning and buying Agency |
UK & IRELAND |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Public relations and communication services |
UK & IRELAND |
Rate card |
Creative, digital, B2C & B2B Media Strategy, planning and buying and activation services |
North Europe |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Integrated PR & Marketing Services |
North Europe |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Marketing Services |
Africa |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Media Services |
Africa |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Digital Services |
Africa |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Activations Services |
Africa |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Digital Marketing Services |
Africa |
Rate card/Variable cost |
Multi-Disciplinary 360 Degree Marketing Services |
South America |
Rate Card |
(d) how are the (i) successes and (ii) failures of the marketing strategies measured?
Evaluation metrics for measuring successes of campaigns are predetermined and articulated upfront in the respective Annual Performance Plans in the form of Technical Indicator Descriptions. Failures will be determined against non-achievement of these.
(e) what are the results of the marketing strategies in each market in each year?
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
Global lockdown and travel restrictions in source markets. No in-market campaigns implemented as there was no assigned investment. |
Planned deal driven campaigns were executed as stated on pages 54 of the 2021/22 SA Tourism Annual Report tabled to Parliament. |
Delivery on the planned campaigns for this fiscal is currently in progress. |
(f) what lessons have been learnt from the tourism marketing strategies in each of the past three financial years in each case?
Having a compelling brand positioning supported by sufficient financial investment and an all of Government barrier removal approach is critical to win. This is underpinned by building strategies over a long time to create consistency and affinity in the consumer's mind whilst staying agile enough to course correct when the need arises.
15 December 2022 - NW4595
Bryant, Mr D W to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
(1)With reference to Part 9 of the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998, what measures has his department taken to ensure the compliance of water treatment package plants with their licensing conditions in each province in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, (d) 2021 and (e) 2022; (2) what (a) punitive measures have been taken against those who contravened their licence agreements in the specified period in each province and (b) additional measures is his department taking to ensure that privately owned water treatment package plants are licensed and compliant for the period under review in each province?
Reply:
1. Part 9 of the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998 addresses the review and renewal of licenses, and the amendment and substitution of conditions of licenses. Water treatment package plants, either for drinking water treatment or for wastewater treatment, usually have a design capacity range of between 1-2ML/day. This capacity range is small and has a low impact compared to the conventional larger water treatment plants. Lower-risk water uses are generally authorized through Part 6: Section 39 (General Authorization) of the National Water Act, depending on the sensitivity of the catchment. Licenses are issued for larger treatment plants. The table below provides a summary of regulatory requirements for wastewater treatment and drinking water treatment package plants.
Legal requirements |
Wastewater Treatment Package plants |
Drinking Water Treatment Package Plants |
Water use authorization required |
|
|
Common design Capacity |
1-2Ml/day |
1-2ML/day |
Monitoring for compliance |
Part of Green Drop |
Part of Blue Drop |
Mandate |
DWS and Water Services Authorities |
DWS and Local government as Water Services Authorities |
Measures taken by the Department to ensure the compliance of water treatment package plants between 2018 and 2022 include:
- The revival of the Green and Blue Drop certification programs
- Monitoring action plans for non-compliant systems
- Enforcement actions
- Review of the norms and standards for drinking water
- Confirmation of general authorizations for new plants
- As part of the license conditions, package plants are mandated to submit to the DWS, monthly water quality analysis which should be in line with the applicable limits for each parameter analysed.
2. (a) The Water Services Act, Act 08 of 1997 does not make provisions for penalties. However, the DWS carries out audits to monitor compliance and implements enforcement actions to rectify contraventions related to non-compliance to the conditions of authorizations.
(b) The Department is monitoring compliance of package plants as provided for by legislation. The department undertakes audits as part of regular monitoring activities and where there is non-compliance, issues Notices or Directives to the owners of the package plant. In some cases, investigations are triggered by reports of suspected cases of non-compliance which are followed up by the department. Where administrative enforcement actions are implemented, the department monitors to ensure full compliance with the conditions of authorisations.
The table below indicates instances where the Department has undertaken compliance monitoring audits and investigations triggered by complaints received and the subsequent administrative actions to address non-compliances.
Table 2: Compliance monitoring audits, inspections conducted, and enforcement actions taken
Activities and administrative action taken |
Activities and administrative action taken |
Activities and administrative action taken |
Activities and administrative action taken |
Activities and administrative action taken |
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
3x audits and 1x inspection undertaken in Eastern Cape i.e. Mzimvubu / Tsitsikamma |
4x audits and 1x inspection undertaken in Eastern Cape i.e. Mzimvubu / Tsitsikamma |
1x inspection and 2x audits undertaken in Eastern Cape i.e. Mzimvubu / Tsitsikamma |
2x inspections and 1x audit undertaken in Eastern Cape i.e. Mzimvubu / Tsitsikamma |
2x inspections undertaken in Eastern Cape i.e. Mzimvubu / Tsitsikamma |
2x Notices issued |
3x Notices issued |
2x Notices issued |
3x Notices issued |
2x Notices issued |
- |
3x Directives issued |
1x Directive issued |
- |
- |
Complaints received and investigated |
||||
1x complaint received from Limpopo regional office (i.e. Limpopo WMA) |
2x complaints received from North- West and KwaZulu Natal regional office (i.e. Pongola/Mtamvuna and Limpopo WMA) |
3x complaints received from North-West and Limpopo regional office (i.e. Limpopo WMA) |
- |
- |
1x Investigation undertaken |
2x investigations undertaken |
3x investigations undertaken |
- |
- |
1x Notice issued |
Both cases were recommended for administrative action |
3x Directives were issued |
- |
- |
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15 December 2022 - NW4710
Buthelezi, Mr EM to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
Whether, with reference to complaints by many members of the public about the poor care and demeaning attitudes of Public Service officials towards persons with disabilities, his department has any collaborative programmes in place with BlindSA to provide sensitivity training to Public Service staff at government service offices in order to address issues of stigmatisation and ensure that all South Africans receive equal and adequate assistance from government officials; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The unprofessional behaviour and conduct of Public Service officials towards persons with disabilities is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. The Bill of Rights protect our vulnerable citizens and public service officials are required to act in ways that uphold the dignity and humanity of all our citizens.
The Disability Rights Awareness Month (DRAM) 2022, was launched by the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities on 3 November 2022. The theme for this year’s DRAM is titled “Empowering Persons with Disabilities through resourceful, sustainable and safe environments”. Government’s Disability Rights Awareness Campaign is part of the 365 days Calendar on disabilities to create more awareness about the disabilities, showcase gaps and challenges that are experienced in delivery of services for persons with disabilities, showcase inroads and achievements made to date by government in line with the MTSF priorities and forge further partnerships between persons with and without disabilities to support the social cohesion towards realization of disability inclusion in all our programs and all aspects of society.
The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and the National School of Government signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Disability Inclusion Training for public servants, on 3 November 2022. This training is aimed at empowering public servants in ensuring disability inclusion in their programmes and services of their departments.
The National School of Government has several training programmes in place to build awareness of these issues in public service officials. The compulsory programmes such as the “Championing Anti-discrimination in the Public Service”. The NSG has partnered with the UNFPA on “Achieving Disability Inclusiveness through Universal Access and Reasonable Accommodation” course. Furthermore, it offers “Know your Constitution” and “Ethics in the Public Service” as free courses. The NSG uses the specialised services to develop training materials that are accessible to officials who have barriers to learning.
End
15 December 2022 - NW4344
Van Zyl, Ms A M to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
Whether his department has been informed of any sewerage spillages into natural water sources in the (a) Walter Sisulu Local Municipality and (b) Senqu Local Municipality; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (i) is the location of each spillage and (ii) steps has his department taken to assist the Joe Gqabi District Municipality to (aa) fix the infrastructure and (bb) rehabilitate the specified natural water sources?
Reply:
a) The Department is aware of the sewage challenges experience by Joe Gqabi District Municipality. There have been long standing issues at the Burgersdorp sewage system and Steynsburg Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW). The status regarding progress made is as follows:
- Contractors are currently at both sites
- Progress made at the Burgersdorp WWTW is at 95%
- Progress made with the Steynsburg sewage system is at 80%.
b) (i) Site of pollution |
(ii) (aa) steps taken by department to assist through repairs to the infrastructure |
(ii) (bb) rehabilitation of the specified natural water sources |
Burgersdorp - pollution of the Stormberg Spruit |
|
Rehabilitation included removal of any paper and solids for burial and application of chloride of lime to disinfect affected areas |
Steynsburg Sewage Ponds in the catchment of Teebus stream |
|
Rehabilitation includes removal of papers, disinfection with chloride of lime and natural attenuation |
Sterkspruit Activate Sludge Works |
Sterkspruit Activate Sludge Works have been repaired and the works are functioning normally, thus removing the overload on the Sterkspruit Pond System |
Overflow from the Sterkspruit sewage ponds had impacted the Sterkspruit Stream, but has since been resolved |
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15 December 2022 - NW4588
Mohlala, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
With reference to the estimation that, based on current usage trends, water demand will exceed availability of economically usable fresh water resources in the Republic by 2025, and in view of the fact that the continuing trend in industrialisation and urbanisation of the population is expected to place further pressure on the Republic’s sources of water supply unless appropriate corrective action is taken, (a) what is his department currently doing to ease the pressure as alluded to, (b) what are the key specific workable strategies to deal with the envisaged water demand and (c)(i) which areas will be the most affected when it comes to water demand and (ii) why?
Reply:
a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) undertakes planning studies over different planning horizons, to develop interventions that are implemented to ensure water security for the country. These interventions comprise of enablers like governance, financing, human capacity building as well as science and innovation which facilitate implementation of water projects at National, Provincial and District and Local Municipality level.
b) The interventions implemented to ensure water security are contained in the National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS), through which the minister gives effect to the National Water Act, as well as the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan (NWSMP). Additional interventions include the following:
- Planning and implementing a range of major projects to augment national bulk water resource infrastructure and
- Establishing the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) to finance and implement the large-scale investments in national water resource infrastructure that are required to ensure that South Africa has sufficient bulk water supply now and in future.
- The department is prioritising increased but sustainable use of groundwater
- The department is also exploring seawater desalination.
- Strengthening the department’s its role in supporting and intervening in municipalities where water and sanitation services are failing, in conjunction with provinces, COGTA, National Treasury and SALGA.
- The Department is updating the National and sectoral Water Conservation and Water Demand Management strategies. This is to ensure effective performance of WCWDM practices by the sector.
- The DWS has also developed the Water Services Improvement Programme (WSIP) to strengthen its support and intervention at municipal level based on actual data or most available data. The aim of the programme is for the Department to ensure that support and intervention at municipal level is proactive, consistent, and systematic.
- In line with the WSIP, the department has further established the Water Partnership Office (WPO) within the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The WPO has developed five standardized National Programmes for private sector participation in municipal water and sanitation services,
- One of the five National Programmes within the WPO is Non- Revenue Water (NRW) programme aimed at implementing the Water Conservation and Water Demand Management and cost recovery programme focusing on reducing losses, reducing over consumption, and improving cost recovery
The various studies that inform the NWRS are available on the DWS website, at http://www6.dwa.gov.za/iwrp/projects.aspx, and the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan (NW&SMP) is available at http://www.dwa.gov.za.
c) (i-ii) All provinces are affected by the growing demand for water due to:
- Demand outstripping supply due to extensive growth of urban settlements
- Extension of services to previously serviced rural settlements
- Poor maintenance of ageing infrastructure - at a municipal level - that has also reached the end of its lifespan
- Non-revenue water is currently sitting at 45.1% (31,9 % is losses through physical leakages)
- The management of water treatment plants adds to the crisis as many of the municipal treatment plants are operating below average standards and a third are critical based on the Blue Drop reports.
- Shortage of bulk water (owing to droughts, delayed planning for and delivery of bulk water infrastructure such as dams and associated infrastructure)
---00O00---
15 December 2022 - NW4483
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
What are the relevant details of funding provided by her department to private companies that are responsible for supporting emerging farmers with technical support for each commodity and in each province throughout the Republic in the past 10 years; (2) whether she will furnish Mr N P Masipa with a detailed report on the progress made through such support for each (a) farm, (b) commodity and (c) year; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is collating the information required and will tabled a response as soon as possible.
15 December 2022 - NW4572
Tito, Ms LF to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Which forms of assistance have been offered to small-scale farmers, especially at Rooiwal Village in the North West, who can no longer farm due to cable and farming equipment theft?
Reply:
The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is collating the information required and will tabled a response as soon as possible.
15 December 2022 - NW4689
Cebekhulu, Inkosi RN to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
With reference to her department’s under-expenditure in the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative (PESI) and the complications surrounding the voucher programme under the PESI earlier in 2022, what are the relevant details of her department’s reasons for not being able to provide and secure a sustainable land reform and agrarian transformation for small-scale farmers to achieve a more integrated and inclusive rural economy?
Reply:
The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is collating the information required and will tabled a response as soon as possible.
15 December 2022 - NW4594
Groenewald, Mr IM to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
(1) With reference to his reply to question 2335 on 17 July 2022, what (a) total number of the 77 Water Services Authorities who initially failed to comply with the non-compliance letters issued by his department submitted corrective action plans since June 2022 and (b) are their names. 2) whether he will make a statement on the matter; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(a) Fifteen (15) of the remaining 77 Water Services Authorities (WSAs) have submitted action plans since June 2022.
(b) The following fifteen (15) WSAs have submitted action plans:
- O R Tambo DM
- Sunday River Valley LM
- Kouga LM
- Beaufort West LM
- Kannaland LM
- Matzikama LM
- Prince Albert LM
- Swellendam LM
- Siyacuma LM
- Tsantsabane LM
- Merafong LM
- Lesedi LM
- Rand West LM
- Pixley Ka Seme LM
- Ngaka Modiri Molema DM
Four (4) additional WSA have requested support for the development of the action plan as indicated below:
- Msukaligwa LM
- Thaba Chweu LM
- Emalahleni LM
- Chris Hani DM
The Department is implementing the Water Services Improvement Programme (WSIP) to strengthen its support and intervention at municipal level based on actual data or most available data, the aim of the programme is to ensure that support and intervention at municipal level is proactive, consistent, and systematic. There has also been concerted effort with SALGA and MISA to assist remaining municipalities with the development and implementation of the action plans.
---00O00---
15 December 2022 - NW4415
Chetty, Mr M to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
What is the (a) total number of staff employed and/or provided as departmental support in (i) his and (ii) each of the Deputy Ministers’ private offices and (b)(i) job title and (ii) annual remuneration package of each specified person?
Reply:
The total number of staff employed and/or provided as departmental support in the private offices is provided below. The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial handbook and excludes advisors.
Office of the Minister
No. |
(b)(i) Job Title |
Salary level |
Chief of Staff |
14 |
|
Private Secretary |
13 |
|
Parliamentary and Cabinet Support Officer |
13 |
|
Administrative Secretary |
13 |
|
Assistant Appointment Secretary |
9 |
|
Secretary/Receptionist |
7 |
|
Registry Clerk |
7 |
|
Service Aide in Parliamentary office in Cape Town |
5 |
|
Driver/Messenger |
5 |
Office of Deputy Minister Gina
No. |
(b)(i) Job Title |
Salary level |
Head of Office |
13 |
|
Private Secretary |
12 |
|
Technical Specialist |
13 |
|
Parliamentary and Cabinet Support |
11 |
|
Community Outreach Officer |
11 |
|
Receptionist |
7 |
|
Household Aide |
3 |
|
Driver/Messenger |
5 |
Office Deputy Minister Majola
No. |
(b)(i) Job Title |
Salary level |
Head of Office |
13 |
|
Private Secretary |
12 |
|
Parliamentary and Cabinet Support |
11 |
|
Community Outreach Officer |
11 |
|
Receptionist |
7 |
|
Senior Registry Clerk |
6 |
|
Household Aide |
3 |
|
Household Aide |
3 |
|
Driver/Messenger |
6 |
In addition to the above staff complement, there are two interns placed in the Ministry who are paid a stipend.
-END-
15 December 2022 - NW4533
Sithole, Mr KP to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
Whether his department has any alternative plans put in place to provide (a) rural households and (b) persons with disabilities living in rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal with bulk water supply; if not, why not; if so, what are the details of the alternative plans?
Reply:
The Department of Water and Sanitation is funding various bulk water supply projects which benefit rural househols as well as persons with disabilities in KwaZulu-Natal. The following are the projects which are being implemented in the various municipal areas:
Project name |
Municipality |
Estimated project cost |
No. of beneficiaries |
Overall progress |
Nongoma BWS |
Zululand DM |
R822 m |
153 236 |
100% |
Greytown BWS |
uMzinyathi DM |
R523.4 m |
27 824 |
92% |
Driefontein BWS |
uThukela DM |
R536.2 m |
204 306 |
99% |
Ngcebo BWS |
iLembe DM |
R1 096.7 m |
585 900 |
100% |
Greater Bulwer BWS |
Harry Gwala DM |
R339.6 m |
113 256 |
80% |
Maphumulo BWS |
iLembe DM |
R649.9 m |
112 320 |
76% |
Mandlakazi BWS Phases 5&6 |
Zululand DM |
R2 988.0 m |
279 297 |
61% |
Middledrift BWS |
King Cetshwayo DM |
R290.9 m |
177 576 |
54% |
Greater Mthonjaneni BWS |
King Cetshwayo DM |
R2 025.5 m |
99 612 |
65% |
Greater Mpofana BWS |
UMgungundlovu DM |
R954.9 m |
181 590 |
87% |
uMshwathi BWS |
uMgungundlovu DM & iLembe DM |
R2 308.7 m |
362 682 |
50% |
15 December 2022 - NW4485
Masipa, Mr NP to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
What are the relevant details of (a) Onderstepoort Biological Products purchase price of vaccines from Botswana for each unit and (b) the price that the specified units are being sold to the South African government?
Reply:
The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is collating the information required and will tabled a response as soon as possible.
15 December 2022 - NW4393
Schreiber, Dr LA to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
What is the (a) total number of staff employed and/or provided as departmental support in (i) his and (ii) the Deputy Minister’s private offices and (b)(i) job title and (ii) annual remuneration package of each specified person?NW552
Reply:
In June 2022 Cabinet approved the appointment of staff to support the Acting Minister linked to the acting term.
The 2 November 2022 amended Ministerial Handbook provides for the appointment of 14 staff in the Office of the Minister, which includes 5 support staff to be appointed by the department and 10 staff in the Office of the Deputy Minister, which includes 3 support staff to be appointed by the department.
(a) total number of staff employed and/or provided as departmental support in their private offices:
(i) Office of the Acting Minister, Mr TW Nxesi, MP = 13
(ii) Office of the Deputy Minister, Dr MCC Pilane-Majake, MP = 9
(b) (i) job title and (ii) annual remuneration package
Office of the Acting Minister |
Job Title |
Annual Remuneration Package |
Staff appointed in the Office of the Minister |
||
1 |
Chief of Staff |
R1,308,051 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 20,340 Non pensionable allowance R1,412,811 |
2 |
Private and Appointment Secretary |
R1,105,383 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 20,340 Non pensionable allowance R1,210,143 |
3 |
Community Outreach Officer |
R766,584 all-inclusive package R 19,680 Non pensionable allowance R786,264 |
4 |
Receptionist |
R 248,790 all-inclusive R 19,200 PNP allowance R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R282,630 |
5 |
Media Liaison Officer |
R1,105,383 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 20,340 Non pensionable allowance R1,210,143 |
6 |
Parliamentary Officer |
R1,105,383 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 20,340 Non pensionable allowance R1,210,143 |
7 |
Administrative Clerk (Acting as Assistant Appointment and Administrative Secretary and receiving acting allowance accordingly) |
R539,384 all-inclusive R 84,420 PNP allowance R 17,400 Non pensionable allowance R641,204 |
Staff appointed by the department to provide support to the Office of the Minister |
||
1 |
Driver/Messenger |
R241,495 all inclusive R 19,200 PNP allowance R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R275,335 |
2 |
Food Aide Services |
R146,858 all-inclusive R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R161,498 |
3 |
Administration Support & Coordination |
R766,584 all-inclusive package R 19,680 Non pensionable allowance R786,264 |
4 |
Parliamentary & Cabinet Support |
R889,656 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 19,680 Non pensionable allowance R993,756 |
5 |
Registry Clerk |
R248,790 all-inclusive R 19,200 PNP allowance R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R282,630 |
Internships |
||
1 |
Intern |
Stipend of R76,330 |
Office of the Deputy Minister |
Job Title |
Annual Remuneration Package |
Staff appointed in the Office of the Deputy Minister |
||
1 |
Head of Office (Acting Head of Office, reassigned from within the Department. Only receiving PNP allowance contemplated in Clause XIX of PSCBC Res 3 of 1999 for support to the Member, in addition to her Director level salary paid by virtue of being on the same salary level) |
R 84,420 PNP allowance |
2 |
Private and Appointment Secretary |
R908,502 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 20,340 Non pensionable allowance R1,013,262 |
3 |
Parliamentary and Cabinet Support |
R766,584 all-inclusive package R 84,420 PNP allowance R 19,680 Non pensionable allowance R870,684 |
4 |
Household Aide (Acting as Receptionist and receiving acting allowances accordingly) |
R248,790 all-inclusive R 19,200 PNP allowance R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R282,630 |
5 |
Acting Household Aide (Contract) |
R175,587 all-inclusive R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R190,227 |
6 |
Household Aide |
R175,587 all-inclusive R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R190,227 |
Staff appointed by the department to provide support to the Office of the Minister |
||
1 |
Driver/Messenger |
R208,091 all-inclusive R 19,200 PNP allowance R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R241,931 |
2 |
Food Aide Services |
R146,858 all-inclusive R 14,640 Non pensionable allowance R161,498 |
Internships |
||
1 |
Intern |
Stipend of R76,330 |
END
15 December 2022 - NW4589
Mohlala, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Water and Sanitation
Considering that the total surface water available in the Republic averages about 49 200 million m3 annually, of which about 4 800 million m3 annually originates from the Kingdom of Lesotho, a portion of this runoff known as the Ecological Reserve needs to remain in the river in order to maintain the natural environment along the watercourse, (a)(i) what total amount in water bill does the Republic pay to the Kingdom of Lesotho on annual basis and (ii) which areas benefit more from this water agreement, (b)(i) what is the nature of contract between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic regarding water and (ii) by what date will the contract lapse and (c) what is the Republic doing to ease the burden on the Kingdom of Lesotho such that it is self-sufficient on water?,
Reply:
a)(i) The allocated budget for royalties for the period 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2022 is R 1 330 million.
(ii) Article 4 of the Treaty describes the purpose as follows: “The Project shall be to enhance the use of water of the Senqu/Orange River by storing, regulating, diverting and controlling the flow of the Senqu/Orange River and its affluents in order to effect the delivery of specified quantities of water to the Designated Outlet Point in the Republic of South Africa and by utilizing such delivery system to generate hydro-electric power in the Kingdom of Lesotho.” The water is transferred into the Vaal River system to mainly supply water users in Gauteng.
a) The implementation, operations and commitments to deliver water to South Africa from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) are governed by the Treaty of 1986 and its Protocols and the Phase II Agreement of 2011. The purpose of the Treaty and Agreement is to provide the legal basis for the implementation of Phases I and II of the LHWP as well as for the operation and maintenance of infrastructure.
i) There is no date by when the obligations of the Treaty in respect of water deliveries to South Africa will lapse.
ii) There are extensive programs in place as part of Phases I and II, including:
- Water supply for affected communities
- Sanitation programs for affected communities.
- Releases of water from the LHWP tunnel system for purposes of augmenting the Lesotho Lowlands Water Scheme that delivers water to Maseru and urban areas in the lowlands of Lesotho.
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